Letters

Ever since I read James Hansen’s “Storms of My Grandchildren,” I have spent countless hours reading about climate change. As evidence mounted revealing the damaging potential of a changing climate, I wondered if a storm so out of the ordinary, so powerful and so disastrous in its impacts would give birth to a heightened sense of emergency. And would that sense of emergency translate into Earth-friendly public policy?

Is Hurricane Helene just such an event? The impact of the path of devastation from Tampa, Florida, to the western portion of North Carolina and eastern Tennessee can be measured in lives lost, homes destroyed, infrastructure and businesses gutted. One hopes that this heartbreak will open minds to what lies before us.

Climate change has resulted in an atmosphere of increased moisture content and an ocean heated to depths heretofore unrealized. Because of those two climate-induced factors, Helene strengthened from a Category 1 to a Category 4 hurricane in less than 24 hours.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased by 50 percent since preindustrial times. In 1988, building on prior work by other scientists, James Hansen testified before Congress to spell out the “Greenhouse Effect,” or the ability of CO2 molecules (and other gases) to trap heat in the lower atmosphere. Hansen testified that any amount greater than 350 parts per million of atmospheric CO2 would result in adverse climatic impacts.

Measured at the Mauna Loa observatory on September 22 of this year, CO2 has reached 421 PPM. Because of this, the CO2 safe zone is now breached, and the results are emerging for all to experience — climate disruption has arrived, and Hurricane Helene is but one of hundreds of examples that are exploding across the globe.

Energy generation business as usual is a road to more climate disruption. Southampton Town offers an alternative source of energy and an opportunity to be on the solution and not the problem side of the climate equation. Enlightened leadership implemented the North Sea Community Solar Project, which can provide 4.6 megawatts of renewable energy. Maybe you or someone you know is eligible to join. Check it out.

Oh, and as a reminder, this option exists because Southampton Town voters elected enlightened leadership, resulting in Southampton becoming a “Climate Smart Community.”

In 2024, the option for enlightened leadership continues up and down the ballot, — vote Democratic as if your life and livelihood depend on it. It does.

North Sea Solar should be one of many life-affirming green energy proposals, here — and across the country.

Mike Anthony

Westhampton

Anthony is a former chair of the Southampton Town Democratic Committee — Ed.